My criteria for picking the best computer brands is actually quite simple. The first thing is reliability, the second is speed, and the third is longevity.
Please keep in mind when reading this page, these are all my personal opinions based on personal experience. I would prefer you challenge me on all the items I call the best computer brand. By doing the review checks yourself, you can make your own informed decision.
Asus, no questions asked, this is the best. I have used these boards for years in many different builds. I have never been let down by a single one yet. Gigabyte is the runner up. I used to not think anything of these boards, but after trying them again since they upgraded their technology I have been very pleased.
Cooler Master from all the cases I have tried. The power supplies shipped with them have been solid, they also ship with ample cooling and I find the oustide of them appealing.
Ultra is simply the best.
AMD or Intel have both done me very good, and I have nothing bad to say about either of them. Personally I usually go with AMD, simply because of price.
CPU Cooler - Since the best always changes in this catagory, to find the best, go to Frostytech.com. The best cooling paste currently is OCZ freeze, Arctic Silver 5 is a close second.
Kingston is the best, I don't recommend their discount RAM, but their higher end RAM is the best. Corsair is a very close second, but in recent experience, Kingston has been pulling ahead.
Western Digital is the best. Maxtor is the closest runner up, I have never had a Western Digital drive fail, my first Maxtor drive failed a little while back, otherwise I'd rate them equally.
BFG is clearly the way to go, Nvidia or ATI cards made by them are all well done.
Since my Asus boards are all coming with on board sound, I can't recommend any sound cards reliably, check the reviews if you're buying any high end cards.
Linksys and D-Link are both built solid. Just remember on both of these, you get what you pay for.